‘Boring’ time as only nine cases go to arbitration

Statutory union recognition has turned into a non-barking dog with only nine disputed claims since June.

The most controversial part of the Employment Relations Act has failed to ignite, said Dominic Johnson, the CBI’s head of employee relations.

He was speaking at a London conference last week on employment law, organised by Personnel Today’s sister publication Employers’ Law and law firm Pinsent Curtis. “The central arbitration committee must be rather bored, which I think is a good thing,” he said.

Delegates heard that the CAC, which mediates in disputed recognition cases, has only considered nine applications in four months.

But the DTI’s director of collective employment rights, Jonathan Startup, said, “Ministers are not disappointed at the relatively small number of cases as the aim was for people to explore the voluntary options before resorting to the CAC.”

He added, “If this is evidence of caution before going down this route then it is well and good as this was what the legislation was intended to do.”